That’s right, I bought a second home in the Dordogne. If I left the US, I’d probably go to the UK. It’s as close as you can get to living in the US in term of tax, business environment, legal system, etc. The Antipodes are closer to a west coast life style. Remove the unfavorable French tax environment, and I’d choose the Cote D’Azure which is still the number one destination hands down. If I could create the perfect place, it would be a small country that minded its own business, had health care, a low tax environment, warm weather, rich culture, and lived within its means. I’d be watching some of the Eastern European countries like Slovenia, and Croatia to see how they shape up in a decade or two. Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama all suffer varying degrees of security risk. Bali and Dubai are interesting possibilities. Tax havens such as Bermuda, Monaco, Andorra, etc are great if you are super rich, but are mostly geographically isolated with the exception of Monaco, where you have to live in a condo. Many countries are now offering residency for cash. Hawaii is the US, but is not contiguous so in a sense I have left the US. It is, I believe, the only state where whites are not the majority. Asians out number whites 2 to 1, and it makes for an interesting, exotic mix. The life style is fantastic, and has all the benefits of being part of the US. I paid $400 property tax last year. Food, electricity, water are expensive though. Honolulu is a nice little city and Oahu has more choice than the other islands. Since there is no perfect place, splitting one’s time between two places is a possibility.